it's scary to think about it, but it could happen anywhere. >> cops say a woman was kidnapped in walnut creek, forced to withdraw money from the atm, and then dumped in the oakland hills. good evening, everyone. i'm jessica aguirre. >> and i'm raj mathai. a nightmare scenario in one of the bay area's safest communities. she claims she was taken from a walnut creek parking lot and then taken for a wild ride. the crime spree ended in the oakland hills, and now police are reviewing surveillance tape. nbc bay area's cheryl hurd joins us in walnut creek tonight. cheryl? >> well, raj, police say that the woman was kidnapped from a parking lot in this business park and it was 7:30 last night and it was dark just like this. and no one heard her scream.

>> it is very poorly lit. and i feel pretty safe living in walnut creek, but now i'm not so sure. >> reporter: cheryl feldman works in the same business park where police say two men abducted a 57-year-old woman. the attack happened on the 300 block of north widget lane. >> before she got into her car, the men accosted her, blindfolded her, and tied her you. they put her in the back seat of the car. >> reporter: the two men then drove the victim around the city for several hours, looking for atms to withdraw money. >> we know they went to a number of different locations, where the suspects did get some money from some of her banking accounts. >> reporter: after about four hours police say they drove the victim to the oakland hills near hiller highland and tunnel road. they left the victim and the car there. she was able to free herself. she went to a nearby home to call 911. >> when the suspects left, there was an older possibly

brown-colored pickup truck, a smaller pickup truck, an older model, that had a very loud, noticeably loud muffler on it. >> reporter: that may have been the getaway car. the victim was taken to john muir hospital, where she was treated for minor injuries. the carjacking and kidnapping has stunned walnut creek, a city known more for its quiet suburbs than crime. >> these days no matter where you are. i mean, it's happened out at concord at the mall. it's scary to think about it, but it could happen anywhere. >> reporter: police say that both suspects were in their 20s, white males. one was wearing a mask, both wearing gloves. one about 5'11", 190 pounds, with broad shoulders. the other about 5'9", 150 pounds. if you have any information that can help, please contact the walnut police department. walnut creek, rather, police department. reporting live in walnut career, i'm cheryl hurd, nbc bay area

news. >> cheryl, thank you. new video now just into our newsroom. more snow is falling in the sierra tonight. you see the traffic backed up on 80 toward tahoe. chain control is in full effect. and that's not all. we could wake up tomorrow morning and see a light dusting of snow on our local mountain peaks. >> and we are already feeling the cold blast. cupertino in the 40s right now. nbc bay yars chief meteorologist jeff ranieri tracking the storm. >> the storm hasn't even arrived. the at least the core of that storm system is sitting offshore. we've seen all this rain out ahead of it. that's why even though you may be dry at the current moment we still have more on the way. but the largest story at this hour continues to be that cold blast you mentioned. right now 39 in santa rosa approaching record-setting lows. at this hour some mid, even some isolated low 30s expected up into the north bay. and look at this. in the south bay you're coming in second here when it comes to that widespread cold air with 43 in cupertino and also 44 in los

gatos. let's get you back to the radar. we have been tracking these fast-moving cells all day long. and now what you're starting to see is a little bit of activity here develop in the north bay. that's the nature of what we'll see tonight and into the morning hours. very hit and miss. so depending on where you are you may get a shower, you may not. but one thing's for sure. a huge smattering of snowfall here up across the sierra from truckee all the way down to kirkwood. you've had it going on today. not only that but as advertised those extremely gusty winds. look at all these wind reports up across the summit with non-thunderstorm wind gusts that have topped 60 miles per hour. you still may want to delay that trip up to the sierra if you have any plans in the morning. here we go. there's that low pressure we just showed you. it's going to move off to the sxouth east for tomorrow. so this cold storm will linger at least for the next 24 hours and that's why we can't rule out a chance of thunderstorms into friday's forecast. we'll track it hour by hour and let you know how that weekend shapes up and which day will be

the best for any kind of outdoor activities. >> okay. we'll see you in a bit. thank you, jeff. well, a drug lab in an apartment building right smack in the middle of mountain view. shocking enough. but it wasn't just a drug lab but a dmt lab, a new designer psychedelic drug ten times more powerful than lsd. and to cops ten times more dangerous. tonight we're getting new details on that bust. nbc bay area's george kiriyama joins us live from the apartment building. george, what do you know? >> jessica, right here, this is the apartment building where this s.w.a.t. team went in and busted a drug lab in two of the units on the bottom floor. they also searched the upper floor units for more evidence. as you said, this wasn't a meth lab but a lesser-known drug called dmt. >> this may be the first lab of this kind in the bay area. >> plans, acid-based solutions, tools and equipment.

these are the tools mountain view police say were used to make a drug called dmt. a s.w.a.t. team bust what'd appeared to be a drug lab operating out of this apartment building. officers arrested two people and detained three others. >> it's certainly something we don't want spread. that's for sure. from what i know, this is the first of its kind, and we definitely don't want it popping up in other cities, especially ours. >> reporter: this video uploaded on youtube by the online library called arowid shows what dmt looks like in its final crystal form. the d.e.a.'s website classifies dmt or dimenotriptomine as a psychedelic drug that triggers hallucinations. it's in the same class of drug as lsd but experts say it's ten time strongzer. this woman who does not want to be identified lives near the suspected drug lab. she's had issues with her neighbors for a while. >> they have had little barbecue on the side and they were never cooking anything but you could smell like burning plastic, kind of a toxic plastic smell. >> reporter: the apartment

building's owner says he had no idea this was happening on his property. >> did you often come here at least to check -- >> i come here to pick up the rent. >> and you didn't notice anything weird or anything -- >> no. >> -- any smells, anything wrong? >> no. no. >> reporter: investigators searched every unit in the apartment as well as a building in the back. drug-sniffing dogs were used to sniff cars. neighbors say they're happy to see the operation shut down. >> i definitely feel much safer now than i did even last night, honestly. >> reporter: now, investigators say it's too early to know if this was part of a larger operation or if this was a stand alone. they say there may be more arrests coming. we're live in mountain view tonight, george kiriyama, nbc bay area news. >> george, thank you. the homeless woman who was stabbed to death with a samurai sword in san jose has finally been identified. the justice department says the victim is 70-year-old joan ann hughes of new york. she was well known in the west san carlos street neighborhood of san jose. a memorial was set up there in

her honor after she was murdered back in august. sketches of her you just saw were released, but it took three months before authorities got a positive i.d. hughes moved to california years ago but became estranged from her family on the east coast. an update now to a story we first brought you last night at 11:00. a man is in jail tonight after a dui stop turned explosive in san jose. this is amateur video of the scene next to that new casino matrix. police say they pulled over 35-year-old james mcgill on north 1st street near 101. while searching his car they found a live pipe bomb. officers then called in the bomb squad, who safely destroyed it. six members of the secretive counterterrorism unit known as s.e.a.l. team 6 are in trouble for helping a redwood city-based video game company. electronic arts paid the s.e.a.l.s for consulting work on a new combat game called "medal of honor: war fighter." the deputy commander of the naval special warfare says the s.e.a.l.s provided classified information to the company. one of the s.e.a.l.s is actually

part of that mission that killed osama bin laden. details of the punishment have not been revealed. coming up, identity thieves taking a big leap forward. >> we're just touching the tip of the iceberg. >> it's an investigative unit exclusive. we'll show you how a single key is allowing crooks to cash in while you're filling up. a grand opening and a grand traffic disaster. chp and police doing crowd control tonight near a new livermore outlet mall. we'll tell you what's being done to ease the bottleneck there. and get this. a storm survivor. we'll show you how a man got creative and powered his home with his prius.

it's been a traffic nightmare. why? shoppers packing the roadway. the interstate, 580, in both directions. all in the name of a little retail therapy at the paragon outlet. it's the newest mall there. nbc bay area's jean elle joins us live from livermore to tell us what's going on. and jean, i tried for 70 minutes and i never even got close this morning. >> reporter: well, you'll have to try again, jessica. this mall just closed at 11:00. people are leaving easily right now. but i'll tell you, it was a chore getting in here tonight. and store managers and police say get used to it. this is expected to be a hot spot through the holiday season. >> reporter: it looks like rock concert traffic. there are even overflow dirt lawns. >> there was a lot of traffic. i'm not going to lie. >> it's horrendous but it's fun. >> reporter: fun if you like

shopping. this crowd in livermore is going to the grand opening of the of new paragon outlet mall in livermore. 120 high-end stores with deep discounts. that's sharon van bell lugging her deals through traffic. she says getting here from modesto was a test. >> it was very quick until we hit the off-ramp. it was about an hour and a half coming in. >> reporter: with tens of thousands of shoppers expected, mall managers hired the chp to manage traffic flow. take a look at the view of the backup from our chopper at rush hour tonight. livermore police helped out two on the ground, keeping things moving so shoppers could shop till they drop. after seven hours van bell had a trunk full of bargains. >> kenneth cole had great deals. coach outlet had great deals. actually, everywhere we went had additional. bags within bags. i did some skrims shopping, so i won't divulge what i got. >> reporter: stores are packed and schapers are buying, many carrying multiple bags. managers at heartstrings are loving every minute of it.

>> god willing, this is a good indicator to further holiday sales. >> reporter: van bell says she'll be back. >> i am a little tired. >> reporter: if you plan to join the crowds, rest up and prepare for lots of traffic. the chp tells me officers will be out here through sunday managing all of this traffic. and good news for you late-night shoppers. the mall will stay open until midnight friday and saturday night. reporting live in livermore, jean elle, nbc bay area news. >> maybe that will be my ticket. well, relief will soon be coming to south bay commuters. rebuilding starts tomorrow on the dreaded 280-80 interchange near the valley fair mall and santana row. crews are already laying the groundwork for the new exit and the flyover ramp. vta says major work won't start until after the holidays to keep the impact on shoppers and residents to a minimum. vta says construction will go on, though, for the next two years. the next time you fill up your car you may want to pay ints inste inside instead of at the pum. one type of key opens the

majority of gas yum pz across the country. gas station owners know it and now so do thieves. it's an easy toy to steal your credit card information. let's bring in nbc bay area investigative reporter vickie flung. it seems unbelievable that one golden key so to speak unlock so many pumps. >> we were surprised too, raj. you can call it the key fought kingdom. it's a remnant from back in the day when all gas station pumps were made with the same lock to make teaser for inspection sxwz maintenance. now those keys are just providing easy access to a very luke rcrative crime using high- technology and in the end we are all on the hook. we all do it. swipe, pay, pump. but hidden behind anywhere a new bluetooth skimmer that can rip off your credit or debit information in seconds. police say the bluetooth technology makes it even harder to catch crooks because once they install devices they can nab the numbers off your card from as far away as 100 yards and they never have to return to recover the skimmer.

what's more, this universal gas pump key is making it even easier for thieves to install these new skimmers. >> police tell us what they have uncovered four skimmers at this gas station. >> yeah. >> reporter: more on why this gas station owner won't talk to us in a moment. but first -- >> it's virtually indetectible. >> reporter: lieutenant mike sterner leads a team looking into dozens of bluetooth skimming cases from gilroy to fremont. >> it's in the millions of dollars very easily. but we're just touching the tip of the iceberg. >> reporter: in just the past two months investigators have recovered nine bluetooth skimmers and recorded 300 victims of credit card fraud in the bay area. but how do they get inside the pump? that's where this key comes in. >> so a single key would open the credit card access door to any gas pump. >> reporter: that's right. one key opens the majority of gas station pumps. like this one in san jose, this one in mountain view, and this one in sunnyvale. it's simple.

thieves copy the keys and install skimmers wherever they can. but there's a quick fix according to the cops. if gas station owners change the locks, they can lock out the crooks. >> they're not taking the steps to protect their customers. >> so they know it's a problem. they know we're losing money. but they refuse to change the locks? >> yes. >> reporter: one of those gas stations is this one in santa clara. police say they advised the owner to change his locks after they found two bluetooth skimmers in his pumps. he didn't. police say weeks later they found two more skimmers here. they don't yet know how many people had their credit card information stolen. >> i'm vicky with nbc. >> reporter: we asked owner ed sultanzad for an interview. but he didn't call us back so, we met up with him as his station. >> police tell us they've uncovered four skimmers at this gas station. you could change the locks to protect your customers' information. can you talk to us a little bit about why you haven't changed your locks? >> reporter: he didn't want to answer our questions. >> ed, can i give you my card? >> no. >> reporter: he told us through

his office door that he has ordered new locks but doesn't know when they will arrive. >> it's a concern for you? >> it's a concern that our customers will be cheated out of their hard-earned money. so if we can do something to prevent that from happening by all means we're going to do that. >> reporter: gas station owner gerard habib says 6,000 cars pass through here every day. he says he changed his locks immediately after police found a bluetooth skimmer in one of his pumps last month. >> that's crazy, isn't it? all over the country. and two keys that open every gas station pump. >> reporter: he says it cost about $1,000 to get new locks. officers say the cost can be a deterrent to station owners but they say cheaper options could also stop skimmers like this security tape that shows when a pump has been tampered with. while many credit card companies will cover the cost of fraud, sterner says those costs get passed along in the form of higher irpt rathigh y higher interest rates, making this a crime we all pay for. police say you should always use your credit card over a debit

card because there is better fraud protection and don't hesitate to ask your local station if they have the new locks on their pumps or if they're using the old universal lock system. and if you are in doubt, pay inside. we have more on which national chains are offering incentives to beef up security at their pumps. all of that information is on our website at nbcbayarea.com. just click on investigations. raj and jess, back to you. >> thank you, vicky. tough a tip for our investigative unit, give us a call. you see the information right here on our screen. 888-996-tips. or you can send us an e-mail directly to theunit@nbcbayarea.com. let's check in with jeff because the temperature has dropped dramatically. >> it's unreal. look at this. right now at this hour 39 degrees up in santa rosa. already approaching record-setting levels. also down into the east bay. we're finding numbers in the low 40s. so likely some 30s even back here toward pleasanton, also up into concord, and we're having the same situation down in the south bay. not only the cold air that's been with us today, but take a look at these winds.

altamont pass with a 62-mile-an-hour top wind today. oakland at 37 and also napa with a 24-mile-per-hour wind gust. it has been very blustery with our latest storm system moving in. now, currently we are finding rainfall here beginning to move back into the north bay. and we're not done yet. you may have had some rain. you may have dried out. but the core of this system still remains offshore and that's why we can't rule out more isolated thunderstorms as we head into tomorrow. what we're tracking right now, biggest concern continues to be this area. not major when it comes to that rainfall but it actually may survive here over the coastal mountains, make it into los altos, possibly even the south bay. so again, that's the only thing on the radar at least we're worried about at the current moment. as you look up here across the sierra, it's been going good. not only the snow. four to ten inches. but also winds that have topped 60 miles per hour. we're under a little bit of a break right now. it's starting to wind down. but as we continue throughout tomorrow, we're going to see even more snow come our way. let's take you outside of that

live hd sky camera network, and we have all of this cold air aloft. and then you combine in with it some of the clearing skies you're getting here in san francisco. and that's why we could see a few records for tomorrow even in san francisco. as we start off the morning hours, we'll be mainly dry, a few stray showers possible. but then by the afternoon if we get just one small break of sunshine, look what could happen. our computer models picking up on some instability that may actually fire off some thunderstorms. so we have at least another 24 hours to go where we may get more active weather. here we go. hit and miss rain expected in the next 36 hours. a tenth to a quarter inch overall in that rainfall. and winds up across the sierra still could gust near 90 miles per hour. and for the morning hours we're going to see those lows in the mid to lower 30s expected up into the north bay. so you need the layers with you as you head out not only in the north but also in the south bay and the east bay and you won't have to take off too many layers tomorrow by the afternoon hours. temperatures staying on the cold side about 10 degrees below where we should be.

59 in livermore. 56 in san jose. 56 in san rafael. and also 58 in santa rosa. can you believe it? we had 80s and 90s earlier this week and now temperatures have just plummeted. all right. as we head throughout sunday that's the best day on the weekend. on veterans day with plenty of sunshine. and then we'll see more sunny weather into monday. not too bad you guys. and then by tuesday, wednesday, and thursday we'll keep that chance of showers returning back into the forecast. so we get a little bit of a break and then more active weather. we're clicking the o.t. button back there in the weather center. it's been so busy lately. >> everyone bundle up with their extra blankets tonight. >> yeah. >> thanks, jeff. coming up, his home was blacked out by sandy but this man got the power back on using his prius. we'll show you how he did it, next. [ female announcer ] welcome, one and all,

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or spend $25, and a frozen butterball turkey, just 99 cents a pound. so raise your glass, pull up a chair, grab a plate. this tastier thanksgiving is well worth the wait. safeway. ingredients for life. listen to this. a new jersey man bought his hybrid car earlier this year to save gas. today he considers it a li lifesav lifesaver. >> bob sacala says several years ago he read online about using

the toyota prius as a source of power. when the recent storms hit the east coast he decided you know what, i have a prius, i'll give it a try. he bought a few accessories, a couple of extension cords, and voila, take a look. he was back in action. >> he had an inverter, electrical inverter, that i plugged into the cigarette lighter. it enabled me to power lights and television, a laptop. >> he did it. he did all of that on just 3/4 of a tank of gas. sock-love says his prius helped him get through the worst of hurricane sandy and the storm. the power came back on in his storm just a few hours ago. >> just like an episode of "revolution." an outpouring of support for a family devastated by hurricane sandy. a 19-year-old rutgers student lost both of her parents in that storm. now she's decided to leave school to raise her three younger siblings. zoe everett turned to a website called wish upon a hero.com to tell her story and to ask for $5,000 in donations so that she could keep her family afloat

while their financial assets are frozen. online donors didn't give them $5,000. they gave them $56,000. all of that in less than a day. we'll be right back.

hi, everybody. scott reiss here in the comcast sportsnet newsroom. when you parlay a $50 million payroll into the second best record in the american league, you're doing something really right. billy beane recognized as such yesterday as baseball's executive of the year. just another highlight in a career has already spawned a hit movie. >> the perception going is that we're -- going in we were going to be a few years away. but yeah, i think there's a lot of satisfaction internally that this club was a lot better than i think people gave them credit for at the beginning of the year and i think, listen, the older you get you really appreciate any winning season. we hadn't had one in a few years. that's why i look at this award as not really an individual

award but really a front office award. and listen, having a manager like bob melvin who i hope is the manager of the year here very soon. >> hey, speaking of awards, the giants take home some more hardware. buster posey the national league silver slugger at catcher after hitting a major league-best .336 this season. and barry zito earns the 48th annual hutch award, given to the player who demonstrates the honor, courage, and dedication of mlb great fred hutchinson on and off the field. let me preface this by saying it's not a new injury for the warriors. that's the last thing they need. but it is a lingering one. they are shutting down andrew bogut for at least a week. the big man asked for some time off to get his balky ankle back up to speed. wants to feel stronger before returning to the court full-time. >> the reason for taking the seven to ten days was to try to get back some of that strength. everybody who knows him and has watched him as a player can see he's not the same, he's not moving the same, although we

think he's hoping us and he is helping us in certain ways. but if you know him and have watched him and look at tape going back to what he was, significantly not able to push off that foot like he wants to and at this point he just fields like you know, what give me a week, let's see if i can get some of that strength back. one final note. legendary sabercats quarterback mark grebe announced his retirement from the arena football team. the shoo-in hall of famer will be honored during a sabercats home game this upcoming season. more news in just a minute.

okay. napa, sonoma, livermore. we are in the middle of wine country. but now so is everyone else virtually. >> amazon.com launched its new wine marketplace today. it has more than 13,000 wines from around the world on sale, shipped right to your home. 100 of them from sonoma and napa counties. >> ooh. >> cheers. stay warm. and thanks for watching us tonight. >> bye-bye. [ female announcer ] this is the story of sam,

who made an unexpected arrival. [ woman ] he was 4 months early, weighing 1 pound, 12 ounces. [ female announcer ] fortunately, sam was born at sutter health's alta bates summit medical center. [ woman ] the staff was remarkable. they made me feel safe, trusting, cared for. [ giggles ] they saved his life. i owe all of them my son. [ female announcer ] alta bates summit medical center and sutter health -- our story is you.

>> announcer: it's "the tonight show with jay leno," featuring rickey minor and "the tonight show" band. tonight, jay welcomes sally field. [ cheers and applause ] michael kosta. [ cheers and applause ] and the music of lord huron. and now, jay leno! [ cheers and applause ]